A Guide to Online Game Design Schools

The world of video game design is a thrilling one. Have you ever thought about how cool it would be to create and design a game? Can you imagine yourself creating exotic virtual realms, enchanting characters, and thrilling adventures like those seen in Call of Duty, God of War, and Halo? Sound like a dream job? You bet it is, and it can be yours.

Now is the time to regenerate those dreams and passions you've always had and empower your creative career as a video game designer.

Today, there are a wide range of universities, colleges, and technical schools available for the aspiring video game designer. Many of these top game design schools offer online associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees in coding, game design, animation, and other related gaming areas.

How an Online Game Design Education Works

When it comes to covering costs with scholarships, Rudyard Kipling said it right: "It's a jungle out there."

Although all online gaming courses will have a significant online component, programs will vary in format and required equipment. Most students will access class information, complete assignments and tests, and communicate with instructors and other students online. While many programs will utilize an online chat room format others may rely more on e-mail communication.

Students in degree programs can expect more structure than students taking courses from online schools that offer only individual courses or short, certificate programs. Students communicate with instructors and peers through email, chat programs, forums, and other discussion boards.

Other benefits include:

Classes can be "attended" from the comfort of your home, at your own pace.

Some schools will customize programs, to help you meet their educational goals.

Because of "accelerated" programs, many degrees can be completed in half the time that a traditional education would take.

Interaction with students from around the world is possible, thanks to the online class environment.

All chat discussions, class documents, training materials, and transcripts are recorded and archived for future use by students.

Online game design students work closely with instructors as they create actual games that contribute to a portfolio to be used in the job search. Many programs are designed so that students create projects from their first story boards all the way through to a completed game.

While pursuing an online game programming degree, students will learn programming fundamentals, character animation and modeling, game play strategies, critical thinking, logic, multi-player online game (MMOG) programming; two- and three-dimensional graphics programming; and simulation and game engine design.